Month: September 1999

Monsanto says it has no plans to redesign a genetically
engineered corn plant that’s been linked to the death of larvae of
monarch
butterflies. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:

When it comes to keeping non-native plants and animals out of
the country, the first line of defense is inspection. But the United
States
Department of Agriculture recently got a scare, when a noxious weed
slipped through the cracks and ended up for sale at stores around the
country. But will the incident change the way the USDA operates? The
Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Wendy Nelson reports:

Lighting accounts for about one-third of our electricity use. As
Great Lakes Radio Consortium commentator Suzanne Elston has
discovered, a new generation of compact fluorescent light bulbs is
making saving money and energy a whole lot easier:

Each year, tens of thousand of tourists flock to New York’s
Adirondack State Park… most of them heading straight for the High
Peaks, a rugged chain of mountains just west of Lake Champlain. More
visitors than ever before are climbing above the timberline and
environmental groups are concerned about rare alpine species that are
being crushed underfoot, damaged by campfires and tent sites. As the
Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Brian Mann reports, a group called
Summit Stewards is working to protect this rarest part of the
Adirondacks
in a way that still welcomes hikers from around the country:

Increasing numbers of American farmers are going "back to the
future" – moving away from the high-investment, high-energy farming
methods of the last fifty years, and experimenting with modern versions
of more traditional techniques. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s
Stephanie Hemphill reports:

Many rural communities are learning their water supplies are
contaminated with pesticides from nearby farm fields. The Great Lakes
Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports… in one small town…
farmers realized what was happening and took a stand:

A European plant called purple loosestrife is increasingly making
itself at home near lakes, wetlands, and meadows throughout the Great
Lakes region. That’s bad news for native plants that are pushed out by
the aggressive newcomer. But help could be on the way. The Great
Lakes Radio Consortium’s Tracy Samilton reports on a program to
introduce a loosestrife-munching beetle:

If you live in a city or a suburb, chances are that you see non-native
species every day. They might be birds originally from Europe, or a
tree imported from Asia. They’re almost always referred to as pests and
weeds. Great Lakes Radio Consortium commentator, Chuck Staresinic
, suggests that instead of despising these invaders,
perhaps we should admire them. At the very least, we should get used to
them:

Early next year, the nation’s two largest meat-packers will test market
a new product—ground beef that’s been irradiated to kill harmful
bacteria. The Federal Food and Drug Administration approved irradiation
for red meat in 1997, but the meat industry has been moving cautiously.
Companies are unsure whether consumers will accept irradiated meat. The
product got a major test recently in Minnesota. Minnesota Public Radio’s
Mary Losure reports:

Hemp is big business. In the U.S., industry is expected to top 100
million dollars in sales this year. But the government keeps close tabs
on the plant’s use. That’s because marijuana is part of the hemp
family. As the Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Karen Kelly reports,
that’s led to a crack down on some hemp products: